Resolving to resolve

Everyone is all about saying “I don’t make resolutions,” and “I don’t believe in resolutions” these days. Personally, I think that’s a copout. It says, “I can’t accomplish one single thing this year,” and ascribes to some kind of negative magical thinking that if you write it down, you’ll fail. Whatever. (Not trying to be mean to those of you who’ve said it. I’m trying to light a fire under my own derriere.) I haven’t been making resolutions for the past several years, using this same excuse. This year, I’m changing my tune.

First, I’m resolving to blog at least once a week, and to that end, this.

Second, I’m resolving to read at least one book a week. That’s right; I have not been reading even a book a week. I know many writers somehow read books in the triple digits annually. I am in awe of you. (I do wonder if you remember a word of any of them, but I admire your ability to devour literature just the same. And I don’t mean that snarkily. Be quiet, spellcheck. That is too a word.) I, on the other hand, have not even been reading one book a month since I started working on The House of Arkhangel’sk. So yesterday, I read a book: The Restorer, part of the Graveyard Queen series by Amanda Stevens. (I don’t do book reviews, but it was an enjoyable read, and I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads and B&N.)

Third, I’m going to finish three novels this year. This one is a bit of a cheat, because I’m closing in on the end of my Nano book, Prince of Tricks, and I’m planning yet another revision to Anamnesis (aka The Neverending Story), but I will write at least one novel from start to finish, and probably a novella somewhere in the mix. Again, this probably sounds silly to writers who crank out four or five books in a year, but unless you want to see 300 pages of “All work and no play makes Jane a dull girl,” this is all you’re going to get from me. Yesterday, I managed to get in my standard 1,000 words for the day on Prince of Tricks after being sidetracked by edits on The Armies of Heaven for a couple of weeks, so that’s three resolutions whose face I’m all up in already. (In whose face I’m all up…up in whose face…oh, forget it.)

Fourth, I’ve been telling myself for years “I’m going to learn to knit this year”…but I never made it a resolution, and thus let myself off the hook before I’d even begun. (That was a little knitting joke, there. Sort of. Well, a crocheting joke, anyway. Okay, more of a fishing joke, really, but I don’t have any interest in learning to fish.) And to that end, I’ve just purchased my first set of knitting needles and some pretty aubergine yarn, and have picked out a pattern for a scarf. Boom. I have pwned you, Resolution #4. (Which is not to say that I may not crumble under the weight of my January bravado as soon as the needles arrive, but I mean to give this a real go.)

And finally (aka Number Five), I resolve to cook at least one meal a week—in a real oven—that does not come out of a box, a can, or a freezer. I’ve, uh…made and eaten an entire batch of cookies this week; does that count? (No. No, it does not. And I can’t believe I just admitted that publicly. It was a small batch. ~shifty eyes~)

And why did I not just use ordered list tags to number these? Because this blog template refuses to show the numbers. Perhaps Number Six should be "get a better blog template or hire a pro to design a new site."

And as a bonus, I shall throw at you a random half-naked man. You're welcome. (And yes, I purchased this image. He's a potential Belphagor.)

Are you a resolver or a rebel in the great Resolution Revolution?

More Mistletoe Madness!

Welcome to my giveaway for the Mistletoe Madness Blog Hop! In addition to chances to win at over 50 blogs in the hop, the Grand Prize from the core author sponsors is a brand new Kindle Fire along with ebooks from 14 authors!

Enter my giveaway at the end of the post and then be sure to enter for the Grand Prize on the main hop page. And don't forget to visit the rest of the blogs in the hop!

If you're  familiar with my House of Arkhangel'sk series, you know that it's set in modern-day St. Petersburg, Russia, as well as in a celestial city called Elysium patterned after Imperial St. Petersburg. And if you're a Twitter follower or Facebook fan, you also know that I'm totally obsessed with all things Russian.

So it should come as no surprise that my giveaway for this blog hop is Russian-themed as well: along with signed copies of the first two books in my Arkhangel'sk series and a signed Fallen Queen cover flat, I'm giving away a gift sampler of Kusmi Russian Blend teas (includes my favorite, Prince Vladimir, as well as their Earl Grey blend, Anastasia, and their Troika, St.Petersburg, and Bouquet of Flowers teas). (This giveaway is international.)

You can skip to the bottom now to enter via the Rafflecopter, or read on to learn a little about holiday traditions in Russia.

While Orthodox Christians in Russia celebrate Christmas, it isn't the big to-do it's become in the US and Western Europe. Instead, Russians have a large celebration on the New Year—Novy God—with a decorated yolka (fir tree), and instead of Santa, a similar figure named Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) delivers presents with his assistant Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden. This secular holiday became more popular during the Soviet era, but has been a Russian tradition since the time of Peter the Great.

And as a bonus holiday treat, here's an awesome Russian cartoon about a tech-savvy Ded Moroz and a plane-flying Snegurochka:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And if you haven't entered the other hops yet, hop to it!

An Angels vs. Demons Blog Hop!

Angels vs. Demons Blog Hop: June 28-July 1

If you've come here via the Angels vs. Demons Blog Hop, welcome! If you just stumbled in here by accident, read on.

Authors Leia Shaw and Carrie Ann Ryan are hosting the blog hop in celebration of their new paranormal romance releases, Destiny Bewitched and Dust of My Wings, and they want to know which you'd rather have to...uh...cuddle up with at night—angels or demons? And what are your favorite angel or demon books?

At the end of this post is a table full of blog links. Every single one of those authors and bloggers is offering their own giveaway, in addition to the blog hop grand prizes: one lucky entrant will win a Kindle Touch and one will win a $60 Barnes & Noble Gift Card! All you have to do to enter is comment on any post in the hop...which means you can enter 103 times. Comments on this post will also enter you in a drawing for a signed copy of my novel, The Fallen Queen, and an autographed cover flat.

This is a long post, so I don't blame you if you want to skip to the contest entry—just scroll to the end (but you're going to miss some man candy!). ;) Just be sure to leave your email address or we won't have any way of contacting you.

The heroes of my House of Arkhangel'sk series, Belphagor and Vasily, aren't your typical demons. But rather than make this post even longer, I'll let you learn all about them on my virtual book tour: Belphagor | Vasily. Separately from this blog hop, I'm also giving away ebook copies of The Fallen Queen at both of those links. (Note that entering the giveaways on those two blogs will NOT enter you in any of the blog hop drawings.)

But if you want the quick down-and-dirty on my wily demons, here are their stats:

BELPHAGOR An airspirit demon of Raqia in the Third Heaven

Build: Wiry but muscular

Height: 5’8”

Weight: 160lbs

Eye color: Ebony

Hair: Dark, short, spiked on top

Body art: Numerous Russian prison tats, including on hands and fingers; pierced eyebrow; pierced nipples

Strengths: Fiercely loyal; able to manipulate the element of air, including influencing the mind; as a BDSM top, he makes people feel cherished and protected with an almost paternal sensibility

Weaknesses: Has difficulty trusting others and keeps things to himself to his own detriment, resulting in getting himself into trouble he might otherwise have avoided

Favorites: The game of wingcasting (a kind of celestial poker); cigars; spanking naughty “boys”; a good Russian tea

Occupation: Gambler and thief

Nickname: Prince of Tricks

Quote: “I can't imagine why you think I'd have sex with a girl.”

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VASILY A firespirit demon of Raqia in the Third Heaven

Build: Built like a Cossack warrior

Height: 6’4”

Weight: 220lbs

Eyes: Hazel, with a tendency towards flaming red with Seraphic fire

Hair: Dreadlocks, lava red, tied back at the crown to expose his neck, with long, scruffy “mutton chop” sideburns

Body art: A row of spiked barbell piercings down both sides of his neck

Strengths: Can light a cigar with his tongue, illuminate the darkness and stoke a fire with his breath, generate healing Seraphic fire, and keep you very warm throughout an Arkhangel’sk winter

Weaknesses: Volatile temper, insecurity/jealousy

Favorites: Vodka, spankings

Occupation: Thief

Quote: “You touch Bel’s marks and I will kill you with my teeth.”

Want to meet my sexy demon duo? Check out my debut novel, The Fallen Queen, Book One in The House of Arkhangel'sk, published in December 2011 by Entangled Publishing and just re-released in mass-market trade paperback with a new, gorgeous cover:

The Fallen Queen by Jane Kindred

Heaven can go to hell.

Until her cousin slaughtered the supernal family, Anazakia’s father ruled the Heavens, governing noble Host and Fallen peasants alike. Now Anazakia is the last grand duchess of the House of Arkhangel’sk, and all she wants is to stay alive.

Hunted by Seraph assassins, Anazakia flees Heaven with two Fallen thieves—fire demon Vasily and air demon Belphagor, each with their own nefarious agenda—who hide her in the world of Man. The line between vice and virtue soon blurs, and when Belphagor is imprisoned, the unexpected passion of Vasily warms her through the Russian winter.

Heaven seems a distant dream, but when Anazakia learns the truth behind the celestial coup, she will have to return to fight for the throne—even if it means saving the man who murdered everyone she loved.

Read an excerpt from The Fallen Queen

The Fallen Queen is available now at Amazon | on Kindle | Barnes & Noble Nook | Books On Board. Pre-order your copy of Book Two in The House of Arkhangel’sk trilogy, The Midnight Court(Amazon | Barnes & Noble), coming in August 2012.

Book trailer for The Fallen Queen

To celebrate the May 15 mass-market trade paperback release of The Fallen Queen, I'm excited to present my new book trailer!

There will be several giveaways on my upcoming book release blog tour, so stay tuned for the complete listing of blog dates...and don't forget to rate my video on YouTube if you have a moment. :)

New review and cover love

I have some exciting announcements to share about The House of Arkhangel'sk! First, I was thrilled to learn recently that Russian Life magazine reviewed The Fallen Queen in their March/April print issue, calling it:

...a tense, engaging fantasy thriller that is just a bit sassy or tongue in cheek and chock full of Russian flavor... A great read for a long winter weekend.

Even more thrilling for me, they mentioned the Russian language used in the book without expressing any dismay over my grammar. So, yay, Russian State Hydrometeorological University of St. Petersburg, some of your teaching stuck! ;)

Also, if you weren't aware, Books Two and Three of The House of Arkhangel'sk will be released in late summer 2012 and spring 2013 in mass-market format with Entangled Publishing's new distributor! I'm excited to announce that in advance of the August release of The Midnight Court, The Fallen Queen will be re-released on May 15 with a brand-new look. So, without further ado, here's a sneak peek of the new cover:

I think I'm in love with this cover. :)

Ever wonder what Heaven looks like?

Well, according to me, it looks like this:

Click map to enlarge

A black and white version appears in the book, but I thought readers might enjoy seeing the original on a single page.

If you've read The Fallen Queen, you'll notice there are many places on the map not visited in the book. You'll see much more of the Heavens in Book Two, The Midnight Court.

Copyright © 2011 by Jane Kindred

Look out for falling angels!

There were many times I thought this day would never come. (Frankly, I'm not quite sure it's here; I think I'm writing this in my sleep.) The trilogy I thought was a single book when the idea first germinated in my head in late 2005 (and continued to mistakenly believe until early 2009 when I finally decided it was time to get the thing written), and which dragged me all the way to Russia and turned me into a raging Russophile, was officially released today with The Fallen Queen, Book One of The House of Arkhangel'sk. My little angel Anazakia and her demon cohorts Belphagor and Vasily have finally fallen to the world of Man.

You can find out more about them and how they came to be (and what they put me through) on The Fallen Queen Blog Tour, continuing with my guest post, "The Trouble With Angels," on The Book Faery Reviews today.

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"Kindred’s tale is a romantic, mature, and lyrical collage of heaven, hell, and a magical royal legend. The combination is divinely—and demonically—inspired.”

—Alethea Kontis, New York Times bestselling author of Enchanted

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“A labyrinth of wonder, intrigue and treachery. High fantasy as sharp as a dagger.”

—Mario Acevedo, author of Werewolf Smackdown

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“Jane Kindred’s The Fallen Queen dazzles with its surreal blending of worlds. Lost angel Anazakia, last survivor of her murdered family, finds herself in the hands of demons with suspect motives, betrayed by her own kind, stranded in the world of Man—21st century St. Petersburg, Russia, to be exact. Weaving startling visuals with compelling characters, Kindred reveals parallels in the two worlds that are ‘neither haphazard chance nor calculated design.’ It’s a dizzying, vibrant read.”

—Lynn Flewelling, author of The Bone Doll’s Twin and the Nightrunner series

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“Angels, demons, sex. Heaven, hell, war. Blood and royalty, history and magic, fire and ice. And a story you cannot put down. This is fantasy at its best.”

—Stephen Graham Jones, author of It Came From Del Rio

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Heaven can go to hell.

Until her cousin slaughtered the supernal family, Anazakia’s father ruled the Heavens, governing noble Host and Fallen peasants alike. Now Anazakia is the last grand duchess of the House of Arkhangel’sk, and all she wants is to stay alive.

Hunted by Seraph assassins, Anazakia flees Heaven with two Fallen thieves—fire demon Vasily and air demon Belphagor, each with their own nefarious agenda—who hide her in the world of Man. The line between vice and virtue soon blurs, and when Belphagor is imprisoned, the unexpected passion of Vasily warms her through the Russian winter.

Heaven seems a distant dream, but when Anazakia learns the truth behind the celestial coup, she will have to return to fight for the throne—even if it means saving the man who murdered everyone she loved.

Read an excerpt from The Fallen Queen

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Available now from Entangled Publishing!

The Fallen Queen is available now:

The Fallen Queen blog tour

In celebration of my December 6 release, between now and Anazakia's birthday on the Winter Solstice, I'll be dashing all over the Web talking about The House of Arkhangel'sk trilogy. There are several giveaways planned, along with a few interviews (including a rare character interview of Belphagor), so mark your calendars for a chance to comment and win or just to find out more about the The Fallen Queen. Check  Where's Jane? for the latest blog tour updates and other scheduled appearances.

Arkhangel'sk's first cover

I'm very excited to share the cover for Book One of The House of Arkhangel'sk, coming from Entangled Publishing in December! Here's my little "Padshaya Koroleva"...The Fallen Queen:

We're heading into the last round of edits, and then my baby will have officially flown the nest. :D

What's in a name?

I've been kicking around possible titles that might be more...pronounceable...than The House of Arkhangel'sk. While I'm kicking, I thought I'd share some imagery of various places and events that occur in the book. First, the current title: The House of Arkhangel'sk represents both the family name of the celestial Supernal Family and stands for the house in the city of Arkhangel'sk in which an important part of the story takes place. Below is a dacha similar to the one I had in mind for this second "house of Arkhangel'sk," along with some interior views of an Arkhangel'sk dacha.

And here are some possible alternative titles I've come up with:

City of Archangel – the former English name of the city of Arkhangel'sk. At left is a photo of Arkhangel'sk at night.

The Malachite Room – after an infamous room in the Winter Palace in which Russia's provisional government set up its administrative headquarters in 1917 and from which they briefly held off the Bolsheviks who stormed the Winter Palace to overthrow them during the October Revolution. It's also the scene of a bloody massacre and a crucial part of the climax in the celestial version of the Winter Palace.

Flower of the Fern – the mythical tsvetok paporotnika, a fiery flower that blooms only at midnight on the eve of Ivan Kupala (Midsummer Night), and which my heroine stumbles upon. I can't, of course, provide a picture of a fern flower, but at right is an image of one of the Ivan Kupala traditions in which my heroine takes part. Girls wear garlands of flowers in their hair and then float them out to sea with a candle in the center to carry their wishes. (It's after this that young men and women traipse off into the woods to, ahem, "look for the flower.")

And the last option, Prince of Tricks, simply refers to Belphagor's nickname. ;)

Which do you prefer? Have another suggestion?

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